Roy Hodgson announces his England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and San Marino. Photograph: Matt Lewis/The FA via Getty Images

Rio Ferdinand's recall to the England squad comes five months after Roy Hodgson said: "It is over for him and England." The story of the Manchester United defender's unlikely comeback:

16 May 2012

Hodgson: "I selected John Terry for footballing reasons and left out Rio Ferdinand for football reasons. There are 23 men in the squad, we are preparing for the future and we seem to be discussing one man until the cows come home"

3 Oct 2012

"I very much doubt he will return. I have to say it is over for him and England. It has got to be the end of the road. He is pushing 34 and hasn't played for England for a long, long time"

4 Oct 2012

"I would never dream of telling a player it's the end of the line or the end of the road or whatever I am supposed to have said. That is up to every player to decide for himself"

6 Feb 2013

"I'm not going to talk about him. We've just beaten Brazil for the first time in God knows how many years and I'm not prepared to talk about people who aren't in the squad"

"A player of Rio's calibre and also of Rio's age, you don't bring them into a squad as back-ups, you bring them into the squad because you want them to make the team better. But who knows what the future holds?

"2014 is still a long way off and if Rio is still going the way he is at the moment, in 2014 he is going to be a major candidate for the squad. I think this is the moment to select him because he certainly deserves it on current form"